Friday, June 20, 2014

Bench press strength and push-ups performance, are they related?

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The barbell bench press and the bodyweight push up are both horizontal pushing movements.  They use substantially the same muscle groups.  The basic movement is the same.  Many military services and schools / selection programs use push-ups as a test mode.  The question that comes up frequently is, “Can I improve my push-ups by getting stronger at the bench press?  Or, “Can I improve my bench press by getting better at push-ups?”  The best answer to both of these questions is, “Maybe, but probably not.”  Let me explain.  Scientists at Northern Illinois University took a look at the correlation between max push-ups in 1 minute and 1 repetition maximum in the bench press.  What they found is that the correlation is generally weak.  Timed push-ups did not predict 1 RM bench press performance accurately.  Push-ups accounted for only 31 percent of the variance in 1 RM bench press performance.  In lay terms, it did a rotten job of predicting 1 RM bench press. 

This should not be totally unexpected because they test different abilities.  A 1 RM bench press tests absolute muscular force.  This depends primarily on muscle cross sectional area (as well as joint leverages and technique).  Push-ups test muscular endurance.  The ability to do lots of push-ups is related primarily to the development of resistance to metabolic fatigue in the muscles.  This is done by up regulating the concentration of muscle enzymes responsible for energy production. 

When I said “maybe” above, I was referring to a special circumstance.  If a person can do fewer than 15 push-ups, then they have a strength deficit.  That number of repetitions is closer to strength than it is to muscular endurance.  In that case, increasing bench press strength may help with push up performance.  However, a person able to do more pushups clearly has enough force production capability and would benefit more (in terms of improved push-ups) by improving fatigue resistance, rather than adding bench press strength.

The logic also works when considering whether push-ups can improve your bench press performance.  If your max push ups is in the strength repetition range (i.e., less than 15), it is more likely to help with your bench press performance.  Otherwise, it is likely to have little impact.
Conclusion:  Can’t do many push-ups (i.e., less than 15), bench pressing may help.  Otherwise, push-ups training is the way to go.


Relationship of Push-ups and absolute muscular endurance to bench press strength, Invergo, J, Ball, T., and Looney, M., Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 1991, 5, (3), 121-125.

Monday, June 16, 2014

New Blog

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I am creating a separate blog to post lots of information on run training.  This blog will continue to focus on military fitness.  The run training blog is http://strong-running.blogspot.com.

I'll be posting lots of what I have learned by working with athletes as the Director of the Human Performance Lab at the US Naval Academy.

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Principles of Natural Running with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella

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Dr. Mark is an example of really strong lower body mechanics.  He has very little cross over.  His hips are stable.  His core is solid.  His posture is upright and powerful.  This is how you want to run.  Most people are not going to get this stride by simply running more.  It takes a combination of increased mileage, drills, strength training, and for some, weight loss.  Shoes may or may not be an issue.  Here are some things we find to be useful in most runners:



Running the line drill for run crossover

Strides

Loaded carries



Glute medius training

Glute maximus training

Jumping rope

Progressive plyometrics

Single leg squats

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Getting Big Right With Stew

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I totally understand the desire to get huge.  I've made two honest attempts in my life to accumulate more than 20 lbs of mass on my genetically-robbed frame.  It's got to be the biggest reason why anyone with testicles ever attempts to strength train.  Whenever I write about it here, they're my most popular posts.  What I don't understand is why there is so much mystery about how to get big.  It's simpler than the collective IQ of the riders on the little, yellow bus:  eat more and train a lot... and get some rest (yeah, I fuck that one up, just like you do too). 

So, after basically getting past that pesky physical therapy shit that left my left leg looking like a soda straw with scars, I decided to make the jump up to 200 lbs.  All of that flabby mass that used to wave hello to me in the bathroom mirror as I walked in cooperated and along with the food and leg work, I gained some legitimate mass pretty quickly.  Afterwards, I settled into a nice, steady pound-per-week gain and delighted as my upper back began its steady rejection of size medium t-shirts (unless I wanted to sport the skin-tight douchebag look). 

That was when I was in Florida.  I left around mid-April while the General Contractor I work for proceeded to screw Charlotte County (long story).   When I got home, things hit some snags.  There was that back issue left over from muscle imbalances from babying my leg, letting my hip muscles tighten up.  Then there was that cold that everyone in Florida got that left me with a cough so brutal that if I ate too much and got a coughing fit I'd have to lay down to prevent blowing chunks. 

The biggest problem of all was my diet.  I had a nice system going down in Florida for eating and I let it lapse when I got back due to lack of time to cook for myself.  While I haven't slacked on the high protein nuts for snacks that worked so well seven years ago, I did stop making soups and stews. 

Yes, I got the idea from this article by Jamie Lewis. 
 
That has been a mistake.  While I'm on the brink of 200 lbs, I admit that some of it has been fat gain, more than I cared to see.  I can't share the same distain for abdominal definition that a lot of the strongmen competitors that I interact with have.  I'd rather get a good overhead press from having strong muscles rather than growing a gut.  I still have people to be sexy for, after all.  Upon closer inspection of the matter at hand, I understand why stew worked so well for a nice, lean mass gain...
 
  1. De-naturing and easy-digesting!  No, I'm not going to rip off Jamie that latently.  Yeah, the meat gets de-natured with such a long, slow and low cook.  That makes it more digestible.  Actually, it makes everything in the stew more digestible.  That's really important because, as Vince Gironda pointed out years ago, it's not what you eat that make you big, it's what you can absorb.  Considering that my digestive tract works as well as drunk blind man driving a  heavily-abused Yugo in a F-1 Grand Prix, this is extremely important.  
  2. Garlic and Onions!  Pick a stew.  Any stew.  From anywhere.  I can almost guarantee you that it either has onions and/or garlic in it.  These two vegetables suffer from not being green enough to be considered nutritional powerhouses, or even thought of as vegetables at all, but they have some ridiculously-important benefits to the aspiring muscular man and they all revolve around both having high concentrations of Sulfur-based compounds in both.  These have two notable advantages.  The first is that they play a role in raising testosterone levels (provided that you're eating a high fat diet).  The second is that they play a role in joint health by helping regeneration of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.  
  3. Did I mention a lot of protein?  It's very easy to get a lot of protein into a single meal with a stew or a soup.  Most of my favorite recipes have 60-90 grams of protein in just 8 fluid ounces.   Keep in mind that I'll often eat a 32-58 ounces of stew/soup in one sitting.
No, I'm not citing studies.  This is a blog after all.  If you want to verify this, you'll just have to cut into your porn-watching time to find out...
 
 
What To Do In The Kitchen
 
I've tried out at least ten different soup and stew recipes in that past, several months.  Regardless of which I've tried, there are four tips that work for just about any of them:

  • Double the meat content, at least, and always
  • Triple the spices, at least
  • Use fresh herbs, even when they specify dry ones
  • Be careful about adding extra vegetables.   That will water down the flavors
I also prefer to make stews that have a very high protein content in relation to carbs and fats.  That way, I can adjust the entire meal's macro ratios by adding something fatty or high in carbs.  Some of my personal favorites are:
  1. Borscht (use the first tip listed above on this one.  BIG TIME)
  2. Bacon, Beef and Lentil Stew (throw a few bay leaves into this one)
The routine in Florida was two make two-three of these on a Saturday or Sunday.  These could easily provide a weeks worth of lunches, and a few dinners here and there.  I'd also throw in either some crackers or whole meal bread to mop things up as well as get my carbs in.  This Greek Yogurt works remarkably well as a replacement for sour cream in any recipe that calls for it with the added benefit of having far more protein. 

Best of all, just about all of these stews and soups can be made on a pretty modest budget too while getting a lot of very easily digestible calories and protein.  If you can't grow on a steady of these you probably can't grow on anything. 

There's a good reason why despite drastically different cultures with vastly different foods to work with in every corner of the world all have at least one, or several different stews or soups in their cuisines.  This is the sure-fire way to get inexpensive, nutritious dishes in the diet.  This has fallen into a sewer pipe in the past, several decades in the strength training world.  Consider this entry a suggestion and a stern warning that forgetting this style of cooking should be making it into your diet on a regular basis if muscle-building is a concern to you. 



Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Training for Endurance Lesson Slides and Notes

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I added Training for Endurance to the Principles of Conditioning course page for free download.  Again, this is part of a course that I taught at the US Naval Academy that focus on military (Navy/USMC) fitness programming.  You can access the course materials using the hyperlink to the right or click the picture below for the endurance slides.

 Endurance Training

Endurance Training Programming - Updated

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 Endurance Training Programming

I updated the document just a bit to better explain a couple of concepts that I have been getting questions on.  Hope you find it useful. 

Low Carb Diets and Coronary Blood Flow | NutritionFacts.org

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Low Carb Diets and Coronary Blood Flow | NutritionFacts.org



More scientific evidence that carbohydrates are not the enemy.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Free Download - Principles of Military (Navy) Fitness and Conditioning

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On the right you will find a hyperlink to download the course slides and notes.  I'll be publishing the slides and notes that I have used to teach a Principles of Conditioning course here at the US Naval Academy.  The focus is on military (Navy) fitness but it is broadly applicable.  Lecture 1 is up, with more to follow.

 Lesson-1-Basic-Exercise-Physiology
Lesson 1:  Basic Exercise Physiology.  Lesson covers the basic adaptation to different types of training as well as the basic principles of exercise and training. 
 

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